Ubuntu 12.10 heralds a mature, stable desktop that is ready for all sorts of users. A far cry from the early, clumsy days of the much-criticized Unity, Ubuntu has proved to be one of the best alternatives to the controversial Windows 8. Quantal Quetzal is a release that comes with massive improvements to stability, performance, and usability. Though there aren’t any major changes nor are there any big eye-catching features to boast of, it does, however, manage to please the Ubuntu fanbase by coming up with useful improvements that further strengthen the open-source desktop’s place in the market.

Apart from a brand new Linux kernel and new versions of your favorite applications, you’ll find some interesting features and UI tweaks that should make things a lot easier. Desktop users who spend most of their time on the web will find the Web Apps feature very useful. An upgraded Unity is another thing that you would love to try out. In all, this release pleases Ubuntu fanboys, and also makes Ubuntu strong enough to be considered as a solid competitor to Windows and Mac.

If you’ve just upgraded to Ubuntu 12.10, there are a few tips and tricks that you can use to ramp up your productivity. Taking advantage of the brand new features like Dash previews, you can save your precious time. So, without much ado, here are some tips and tricks that will help you use Ubuntu 12.10’s new features to your advantage:

Use Dash previews to peek at files

The Dash can be quite useful for previewing documents like PDFs. By right-clicking a file that shows up in the Dash, you can take a quick peek at its cover so that you won’t have to open it. Now that you’ve glanced at it, you can click the e-mail button on the Dash to quickly mail it to someone without even opening it.

Similarly, you can browse photos and other files without even opening them. This makes it easier for you to view them in Cover Flow-style manner. Though it doesn’t work for videos yet, you can preview entire music albums from the Dash itself.

Use Previews to quickly uninstall apps

In the Applications lens, as you browse your favorite apps, you can simply right-click the one you want to remove and then click on uninstall. This will prompt for your password then proceed with uninstalling the application. This is especially useful for those times when you come across an app that you don’t like and want to uninstall it without touching the command line or opening the Ubuntu Software Center.

Save time by browsing files by their date, last modified time, and more using the Dash itself

The Dash includes filters that let you browse files according to the date and time they were modified, their size, and their type. This helps you focus on the files you are looking for. Once you narrow down to the bunch of files you want, you can browse them Cover Flow-style by right clicking on any one of them.

Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.